Making Our Men's Rooms Safe for Democracy

It isn't often that a Senator changes how I see the physical world, but Larry Craig did. Connecting through the Minneapolis airport for the first time since his arrest, I had to use the facilities, and wondered, "Is this the one?" They should put up a plaque. Or name it the Larry Craig Memorial Men's Room. After sitting down, I became hyper-aware of my surroundings, now that I knew the secret foot-tapping codes. Not wanting to inadvertently create an incident, I kept looking at the sides of the stalls and worrying that if I sat slightly too widely, the vice cops would come charging in.

Then I realized that I'd have to sit painfully widely to reach someone else's stall. And without gorilla arms, it would take a contortionist to reach beneath the divider accidentally. In three decades of flying and using airport men's rooms, no one has ever reached under my stall. Reassured, I was able to do my business and head off for my flight.

I do want the problem to be solved, however, since our restrooms need to be made safe for democracy. I hear the Minneapolis airport is now stepping up to the task by overhauling the suspect men's room stalls, spending $25,000 to install extended metal dividers that will shave nine inches off the current foot-high gap. But I have a cheaper solution: Why not just place some stickers saying "No Republican Senators?" That would solve the problem.

Paul Rogat Loeb is the author of The Impossible Will Take a Little While and Soul of a Citizen. See www.paulloeb.org